If Elon Musk played soccer: fullback, rated 86

Elon Musk as a soccer player: scouting report

Elon Musk lines up at fullback, a position that rewards someone who refuses to stay in one lane. He taught himself to program as a boy in Pretoria and sold a space shooter game called Blastar to a magazine at twelve, then went on to help build PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX. A modern fullback is asked to defend the flank and then show up in the final third, and few legends in this pool cover that much ground.

Dribbling is the best part of his card. He carries the ball out of defense instead of passing it safely sideways, and with real pace behind him he can turn a throw in deep in his own half into a cross from the byline. His defending is strong enough that the overlapping runs do not leave his center back exposed when the move breaks down. SpaceX made a habit of landing rocket boosters upright on ships at sea, and his recovery runs follow the same idea: go out, come back and land it in position.

Shooting is the weak spot, which matters less at fullback than almost anywhere else on the pitch. His job is the cutback, not the finish, and he should be looking for a teammate rather than the top corner. Goalkeeping is the surprise second best mark on his card, and winger is a real fallback if you need more dribbling up front. Put him on the left with a disciplined holding midfielder behind him, give him a striker who attacks the near post, and let him run the whole flank.

Plays like An overlapping fullback who carries the ball the length of the pitch

Put Elon Musk in your lineup

11 rolls, a starting eleven, 38 matches. Can you go 38-0? Free, no account.